The Rapid Terrain Visualization interferometric synthetic aperture radar was designed and built at Sandia National Laboratories as part of an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) to "demonstrate the technologies and infrastructure to meet the Army requirement for rapid generation of digital topographic data to support emerging crisis C C, C or contingencies". This sensor is currently being operated by Sandia National Laboratories for the Joint Precision Strike Demonstration (JPSD) Project Office to provide highly accurate digital elevation models (DEMs) for military and civilian customers, both inside and outside of the United States. The sensor achieves better than DTED Level IV position accuracy in near real-time. The system is being flown on a deHavilland DHC-7 Army aircraft.This paper outlines some of the technologies used in the design of the system, discusses the performance, and will discuss operational issues. In addition, we will show results from recent flight tests, including high accuracy maps taken of the San Diego area.

The Rapid Terrain Visualization Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (RTV-ACTD) is designed to "demonstrate the technologies and infrastructure to meet the Army requirement for rapid generation of digital topographic data to support emerging crisis or contingencies". The primary sensor for this mission is an interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) designed at Sandia National Laboratories. This paper will outline the design of the system and its performance, and show some flight test results. The RTV IFSAR will meet DTED level III and IV specifications by using a multiple-baseline design and high-accuracy differential and carrier-phase GPS navigation. It includes innovative near-real-time DEM production on-board the aircraft. The system is being flown on a deHavilland DHC-7 Army aircraft.

The determination of elevation models of buildings using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) is an important area of active research. The focus of this paper is on some of the unique scattering mechanisms that occur with buildings and how they affect the IFSAR height measurement and the coherence. The authors show by theory and examples that the various data products obtained from IFSAR can be used to aid in interpreting building height results. They also present a method that they have used successfully in mapping buildings in Washington D.C

Determination of the absolute phase difference (i.e., not module 2/spl pi/) is a key problem in interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) for topographic mapping. One way of solving this problem requires use of a technique different from the basic interferometry to resolve a "coarse" angle measurement that lies within the IFSAR ambiguity angle. The method investigated in this paper involves taking advantage of the difference in the amplitude ratio versus elevation angle that occurs when the elevation beams of the two IFSAR antennas are pointed in slightly different directions. The performance of the technique is a function of the angular separation of the two beams, the elevation beamwidth, and the symmetry of the two beam-amplitude patterns. The performance required of the technique is set by the ambiguity angle of the interferometer. This paper presents an analysis of the beam-amplitude ratio technique and shows experimental results.

Addresses the steps necessary to determine and maintain the phase calibration of a two-channel interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR). The method, setup, and accuracy of four different calibration techniques are compared. The most novel technique involves pointing the interferometric baseline at nadir and imaging a lake surface. The other techniques include measuring various flat surfaces in traditional side-looking IFSAR maps, in-flight closed-loop calibration path measurements, and static laboratory measurements. Initial results indicate that, using combinations of these measurements, it is possible to maintain the interferometric phase calibration of Sandia National Laboratories' Ku Band IFSAR to better than 3 degrees. The time variability of various parts of the calibration and requirements for recalibration are also discussed